A comparative study between managers of corporations in Greece and the U.S. regarding their use and perceived value of computer-based information systems in supporting decision making

Through a comparative analysis of Greek and U.S. managers, this study adds to our understanding of how computer-based information systems (CBIS) support managerial decision making. Based on four views of decision making and various classifications of CBIS, the findings iudlcate that the Greek and U.S. samples have several similarities and a few significant differences. Similarities suggest that either information reporting systems (IRS) are inherently better than decision support systems (DSS) at serving managers’ information needs or the evolution in both types of systems has not allowed DSS to reach the value of IRS. Differences show the Greek sample used stand-alone PCs more. whereas the U.S. sample used PCS or workstations connected to a central computer system or local area network to a much greater extent. These and other results may indicate that the investment in CBIS to support managers has been targeted more at top managers in the U.S. and more at lower level managers in Greece. Keywords; Decision making, managers, information technology use, Greece, Europe, United States, managerial work, information technology value, information satisfaction, mental models, decision support, executive information systems, computer use